Enter your deck size, material, and location to see a realistic cost range for materials and labor.
Your deck
320 sq ft (16x20 ft) is a common suburban deck footprint.
Each stair section typically adds $400 to $1,500 depending on material.
Drives the labor cost multiplier. Material pricing below assumes national-average retail pricing regardless of region.
Advanced inputs
Rough national average. Verify your local permit fee with your building department; this figure does not model jurisdiction-specific fee schedules.
Low, mid, and high estimate
Materials and labor separated
7 decking materials compared
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A deck adds outdoor living space and resale value, but the price spread is wide. Pressure-treated lumber runs far less per square foot than composite. The inputs below account for material, height, stairs, and your region so the number you see reflects a real project, not a textbook average.
Per-material cost benchmarks are industry estimates from HomeAdvisor’s deck cost guide, listed under Sources below. Verify current pricing with a licensed contractor before finalizing your budget.
Deck cost estimate
$14,700
320 sq ft, Pressure-Treated Pine, Low Height, National Average
Low
$10,300
$32/sq ft
Mid
$14,700
$46/sq ft
High
$19,800
$62/sq ft
Materials and labor shown separately. Doing the work yourself? Your cost is the materials subtotal only. Contractor bids typically land in the mid-to-high range once labor is added.
Elevated deck note: some municipalities require an engineered deck plan for decks 6+ ft above grade, adding roughly $500 to $1,500 in design fees on top of this estimate. Confirm with your local building department.
DIY materials-only costIf you supply your own labor, your cost is approximately the materials subtotal shown below, plus your permit allowance.
Cost breakdown by category
Low, mid, and high estimate, stacked by category. Labor is typically half or more of total cost.
Line item
Low
Mid
High
Cost-per-sq-ft reference
Installed cost (materials + labor) by material, national average 2026.
Material
Low
Mid
High
Material comparison: 30-year cost perspective
Upfront cost, typical lifespan, and maintenance level by material.
Material
Upfront/sq ft
Lifespan
Maintenance
Pressure-Treated
$10 – $20
15 to 25 yrs
Medium (stain/seal every 2 to 3 yrs)
Cedar
$15 – $19
20 to 30 yrs
Low to Medium
Composite (mid)
$25 – $54
25 to 30 yrs
Very Low
Trex (premium), modeled installed*
$23 – $57
30+ yrs
Minimal
PVC
$17 – $33
30+ yrs
Minimal
*Modeled: Trex materials range ($10 to $27, industry estimate, HomeAdvisor data as published by Trex, opened 2026-10-29) plus this page's labor share. The other rows are installed ranges, so Trex's materials-only range is grossed up to installed by dividing it by one minus the labor share used in this calculator (57, 52 and 53 percent at the low, mid and high ends).
What this estimate does not include. Footing depth in this calculator uses a flat footing-type multiplier, not your local frost line. A homeowner in Maine may need footings twice as deep as one in Georgia, which affects labor cost more than this tool can model without your zip code. This estimate also does not include HOA design review fees, utility locate costs, or the cost of removing an existing deck. Material prices shown are industry estimates (see Sources below); RSMeans remains pending, behind a paid subscription. Lumber and composite pricing can move meaningfully within a year. Verify current pricing with your local supplier or contractor before finalizing your budget.
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Pricing out lumber, composite boards, or hardware?
Home Depot and Lowe's stock pressure-treated lumber, Trex and composite decking, railing systems, and structural hardware with pickup or delivery.
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This calculator starts with an installed cost-per-square-foot range for your chosen decking material, then builds out separate line items for decking boards, framing and hardware, footings and posts, railing, and stairs, plus labor and a permit allowance. Materials typically run 40 to 46 percent of total cost, and labor 52 to 57 percent, consistent with FigureNerd planning estimates. Railing cost scales with the linear footage of your deck's perimeter, estimated from your total square footage using a typical rectangular deck shape. Stair cost scales with the number of sections you enter. Footing type, height above ground, and region all apply multipliers on top of the base estimate.
The DIY question: labor is typically half or more of total deck cost. If you are comfortable pulling a permit, scheduling inspections, and framing to code, the materials subtotal shown above is roughly what you would spend doing the work yourself. Elevated decks (above 2 ft) are a meaningfully bigger undertaking than a ground-level deck and are not a typical first DIY project.
What drives deck cost the most
Material choice
Decking material is the single biggest lever on total cost. Pressure-treated pine is the least expensive option per square foot. Composite costs roughly two to three times as much as pressure-treated per square foot installed, and composite and Trex decking need little to no staining or sealing over their lifespan. Ipe and other tropical hardwoods sit at the top of the range in both material cost and expected lifespan.
Height above ground and footing type
A low deck under 2 ft typically does not require code-mandated railing and uses simpler surface-mount or shallow footings. A deck elevated 6 ft or more needs structural posts, code-required railing, and often deeper or engineered footings, plus in some jurisdictions a stamped engineered plan. Footing depth itself is driven by your local frost line, not by height alone. This calculator applies a footing-type multiplier but does not know your specific frost depth.
Region
The region input adjusts labor cost only. Material pricing in this calculator assumes national-average retail pricing regardless of region; real lumber and composite pricing does vary somewhat by region due to transport and supply chain factors, which this tool does not model separately.
Bottom line: use this calculator to get the right order of magnitude for your deck budget, then get two or three contractor quotes for your specific site, material, and local permit requirements. The gap between this estimate and your actual quotes tells you where your local market and site conditions have moved the number.
Sources
Opened on October 23, 2026.
Labor context, government data: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, carpenters reports a median annual wage of $60,580 for carpenters in May 2025. The labor share of each estimate (roughly 52 to 57 percent) and the regional labor multipliers are our own modeled assumptions, not BLS figures.
Industry estimate: HomeAdvisor deck cost guide, updated June 17, 2026. HomeAdvisor states its prices come from a survey of over 10,000 real customers about their project costs, paired with research from sources including the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It lists composite decking at $25 to $54 per square foot installed and permits at $230 to $500. Our composite ranges follow those figures.
Industry estimate, HomeAdvisor data as published by Trex, opened October 29, 2026: Trex deck cost page states "the estimated material cost for Trex decking runs from $10 - $27 per square foot (including substructure, decking, hardware, and fasteners)" and footnotes it to HomeAdvisor's "How Much Does Trex Decking Cost?" (2025). That range is materials only. Because every other row is an installed rate, the calculator models Trex's installed rate as that materials range divided by one minus this page's labor share, which gives about $23 to $57 per square foot installed. Trex lists no railing, so railing is added in full.
Manufacturer figure, opened October 29, 2026: Trex FAQ states "the estimated material cost for a composite deck runs from $15 - $30 per square foot (including substructure, decking, hardware and fasteners)." That is Trex's own materials-only basis for composite decking in general. It is shown so you can see both bases and is not used in the calculator.
The other material rates (pressure-treated pine, cedar, ipe, redwood, PVC), railing, stair, lighting, footing, and height multipliers are our own planning estimates, not published figures. No government or trade-association source states an installed cost per square foot for them.
Estimates are designed for planning purposes based on 2026 national-average cost data. Actual costs may vary based on your local contractor rates, material availability, site conditions, and permit requirements. Consult a licensed contractor for a binding quote. This tool is provided for educational and planning use only and does not constitute professional construction, engineering, or financial advice.